A jury of our peers discussed, debated, disagreed, and finally declared LJ’s annual Top Ten Best Books of the year, selected by our editors, as well as Top Five lists for genre fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, and SELF-e titles. VISIT THE WEBSITE

Social Sciences Reviews, February 15, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, coming in June, has unloosed a new supply of biographies. Hardman (columnist, Daily Mail) offers an authoritative contribution. Readers will find here the first interview granted by Prince William to an author, as well as interviews with Prince Andrew, John Major, Tony Blair, David Cameron, and former members of the royal household. Insider anecdotes alone make this well worth the purchase, such as one about a row in 1954 between the queen and Prince Philip in front of an Australian camera crew who meekly gave the film to the queen’s press secretary. But what really sets this work apart is its concentration on the working life of the monarch. Hardman describes the extraordinary amount of work Queen Elizabeth does and reveals small, virtually unnoticeable changes in her schedule (e.g., removing the soup course from state banquets saves 20 minutes) designed to slightly ease her burden at age 85. He also includes an in-depth look at the queen’s relationship with prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to David Cameron (who is younger than her youngest child). VERDICT Enlightening and absorbing, this dispassionate look at Elizabeth and her court is highly recommended; a nuanced study to be savored alongside Andrew Marr’s The Real Elizabeth.‚ Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA

The realities of the recent recession, high unemployment rates, and ever-increasing student loan balances can justifiably dampen the bright moral imaginations of the generation now entering the workforce. Coauthors Parish (founder, Energy Action Coalition) and Aujla (founder, DreamNow) outline the skills, resources, and insights necessary to create socially responsible change while navigating a nonlinear career path. The authors use their more than ten years of personal experience as well as lessons from fellow pathfinders to put together this insider’s guidebook to social entrepreneurship. They cover foundational concepts, preparatory exercises, daily practices, and resources helpful in creating careers that combine meaning, money, and community while making good. VERDICT Highly recommended. An uplifting primer filled with practical insights for students who want to effect global change without sacrificing personal financial security or stability. The business acumen, leadership skills, as well as real-life examples illustrated here draw a compelling picture of careers that combine purpose and sustainable security.‚ Jane Scott, George Fox Univ. Lib., Newberg, OR

In chronicling the bloody fighting of the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee 150 years ago, novelist and historian Groom (Kearny’s March: The Epic Creation of the American West, 1846‚ 1847) compels the reader to appreciate the enormous toll to both sides owing to advanced arms, outmoded battle tactics, and poor generalship. Although Groom lays responsibility on both sides, he especially blames General Grant and General Sherman, serving under him, for failure to fortify positions, properly reconnoiter, read the signs of enemy advances, and have a battle plan in case of attack. Union forces prevailed owing to late-arriving reinforcements and Confederate failure to capitalize on earlier gains. Groom’s gripping narrative is full of absorbing firsthand accounts from drummer boys, officers and enlisted men, nurses, and civilians, including future writers such as Lew Wallace (Ben-Hur) and Ambrose Bierce (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge). In conclusion, Groom sees Shiloh as a learning experience for Grant, who finally understood that no single battle, no matter how costly or geographically significant, could end the rebellion: the Union could be restored only through the total conquest of the South. VERDICT A provocatively rendered and persuasively argued study that demands a central place in Civil War historiography. Highly recommended. (Illustrations and editorial apparatus not seen.)‚ John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Cleveland

New York City historian Jaffe superbly shows that even though New York has been lightly touched by war and its devastation, its location as a thriving commercial metropolis and gateway to the rest of the country made it irresistible to both external and internal enemies. One constant motif throughout New York’s history has been its openness to the newly arrived immigrants who ultimately built the city. But Jaffe points out that many of these immigrants brought along ethnic rivalries or political beliefs that led to violent encounters, notably during the Civil War. Yet the city also profited by financing wars, defending itself by establishing innovative citywide armories, and later nurturing the birth of atomic bomb science. Reflecting on the events of 9/11 and underscoring New York’s historical attraction as a target, Jaffe acknowledges the need for vigilance but only in balance with freedom and diversity, as for the entire nation. VERDICT Encyclopedic in scope, diligently researched, and well written, this magisterial book synthesizes the history of our greatest city in a way not fully done before. It will have strong appeal to general readers, New York history buffs, and specialists with an interest in American military history. Highly recommended.‚ Richard Drezen, Brooklyn, NY

This is Pulitzer Prize‚ winning journalist Boo’s (The New Yorker) first book. She takes a look at the stark lives of the inhabitants of Annawadi, a slum across from Mumbai’s Sahar Airport, to reveal the wrenching inequality and urban poverty still endemic in India’s democracy. Using recorded and videotaped conversations, interviews, documents, and the assistance of interlocutors, Boo profiles the lives of some of the slum dwellers from November 2007 to March 2011. There is Abdul, a young adult scavenger with a profitable trade in recyclables. The one-legged Fatima’s home is divided from Abdul’s by merely a sheet. Readers follow the treacherous paths of these and other lives. A fateful chain of events leads to a criminal case against Abdul and his family. Boo presents glimpses of the corrupt police who feed on those without political power or education. She claims she witnessed most of the events described in the book. VERDICT A tour de force, this book is powerful yet far from harrowing. Highly recommended for all collections. [See Prepub Alert, 8/21/11.]‚ Ravi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL

In the pantheon of books published on U.S. conflicts, the War of 1812 has often been overlooked but has come to the fore because of its bicentennial. Rather than surveying the entire war, Illinois independent historian Ferguson examines the Illinois Territory, which encompassed present-day Illinois and Wisconsin, along with portions of Michigan and Minnesota. In the Illinois frontier, the combatants were primarily local militias combating Native American groups. Although presented as an Illinois story, the obvious influence of William Henry Harrison and Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, throughout the text suggests that events in the Illinois Territory were not unique to that locale, but were instead an extension of the war raging between native groups led by Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa and U.S. forces commanded by future President William Henry Harrison in the neighboring Indiana Territory. VERDICT This monograph is recommended for all readers interested in the War of 1812 from the perspective of the frontier regions of the Old Northwest. It should be read alongside Adam Jortner’s The Gods of Prophetstown: The Battle of Tippecanoe and the Holy War for the American Frontier, which is an excellent joint biography of William Henry Harrison and Tenskwatawa.‚ John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY

Hanna, David. Knights of the Sea: The True Story of the Boxerand the Enterpriseand the War of 1812. NAL Caliber: Penguin Group (USA). 2012. c.288p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780451235626. $25.95. HIST

On September 5, 1813, two relatively small but evenly matched ships of war, the brigs HMS Boxer (12 guns) and USS Enterprise (14 guns), met in action as opponents during the War of 1812. While not an uncommon occurrence during the Age of Fighting Sail, this episode occurred off the coast of Pemaquid Point, ME, and was actually witnessed by civilians on land. The battle lasted less than one hour but was brutal and bloody, with both commanders themselves becoming casualties. Hanna (history, University Neighborhood H.S., New York), an award-winning teacher, has taken this relatively insignificant event and focused on the lives of the two commanders, the two navies, and the two countries involved in the war. He uses the opinions, principles, and motivations of the two captains, Samuel Blyth of Portsmouth, England, and William Burrows of Philadelphia, to bring to life this second American war of independence. Behind this is the larger discussion of the politics and global events that led to the conflict. VERDICT Highly readable, this book will appeal to those interested in naval warfare and the War of 1812 as well as those with any interest in early U.S. history. Strongly recommended.‚ David Lee Poremba, Windermere, FL

This is a relentlessly disturbing book, more so because Harden (former East Asia bureau chief, Washington Post) presents the facts dispassionately. Shin Dong-Hyuk was born in 1982 in one of North Korea’s gulags, Camp 14, which covers 108 square miles and holds about 50,000 prisoners. In a world of horrific living conditions, brutal punishments, and competition for minimal scraps of food (supplemented by secret hunting for frogs, rats, and bugs), Shin was oblivious of such concepts as affection or honesty, knowing only the instinct to survive. Seeking to be a dutiful prisoner, at age 13 he informed on his mother and elder brother who planned to escape. Shin saw them beaten and killed, which at the time affected him little. At 23, he escaped, one of few to do so and survive. VERDICT Following Shin’s story from North Korea to China to South Korea and eventually to the States and connecting it to the larger story of North Korea’s dictatorship and culture, Harden (who has met Shin several times since 2008) tells a gripping story. Readers learn of Shin’s gradual discovery of the world at large, nonadversarial human relationships, literature, and hope‚ and the struggles ahead. A book that all adults should read.‚ Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal

Kwon (professorial senior research fellow, Trinity Coll., Univ. of Cambridge, UK; Ghosts of War in Vietnam), a social anthropologist, and Chung (cultural anthropology, Hanyang Univ., South Korea) undertake a carefully constructed study of the evolution of North Korea since Kim Il Sung’s rise to power. What is now distinct about the North Korean state that the Great Leader founded is not its dictatorship, the power of the military, or the political system set in place. Rather, it’s that North Korea is the only nation-state with a charismatic revolutionary leader at its apex that not only survived the Cold War but created a dynasty, now passed to the third generation, unlike its Soviet and Chinese counterparts. With many references to Clifford Geertz’s studies of symbolic anthropology, the authors explore how North Korea succeeded‚ in this respect‚ where other postcolonial dictatorships have failed. They find an intensifying use of symbols, especially expressed in art and architecture, a kind of theater state that has risen to counter the absence of the apparent genuine heroism and charisma present at North Korea’s founding. VERDICT A clearly written but decidedly academic text that should be of interest to all serious North Korea watchers.‚ Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal